Matthew Allan Makes NYC Debut With Brooklyn Cyclones

Courtesy of Brooklyn Cyclones

September 1, 2019

MCU Park, Coney Island, New York

Highly touted New York Mets prospect Mathew Allan took the mound for the Brooklyn Cyclones on Saturday. The high schooler was promoted from rookie ball last week after the final games of the Gulf Coast League season were washed out due to Hurricane Dorian.

Allan had made his long-awaited professional debut in St. Lucie, Florida with the GCL Mets on July 28th. The reason that Allan’s debut was so long-awaited was because he was a major story in the 2019 MLB Draft. He was projected to be selected 13th in the draft according to MLB Pipeline. Instead, he fell to the third round due to signability concerns. Most people assumed that due to his being selected so late, Allan would head to college instead of professional baseball. The Mets and Allan negotiated for a couple of weeks before Allan inked a contract with a $2.5 million signing bonus.

His first professional outing went smoothly. He threw one inning, striking out two batters and allowing no runs. The outing’s only flaw was that it took place on a minor league backfield with no bleachers and nearly no fans in attendance.

In the middle of the Cyclones push for the NYPL playoffs, Allan has given their chances a big boost. Allan flew to meet the team in Aberdeen, Maryland, a couple of days ago and was informed that he would start at home Saturday. In front of nearly 8,000 screaming fans and with Robinson Cano playing second base behind him on a rehab assignment, Allan threw two innings while allowing two runs and striking out three in his Brooklyn debut.

“It was different coming from the GCL…here your facing majority college guys and they know what there doing and they know their approach,” Allan told media after the game. “I was ok with the result. If anything, I just learned a lot about the league and definitely about the hitters here.”

Courtesy of Matt Allan/Twitter

Despite giving up a couple of runs, Allan proved he could pitch against college-level players. Among those he struck out were Yankees third-rounder Jacob Sanford and NYPL home run leader Ezequiel Duran, whom Allan overpowered with his fastball. His four-seam was sitting at 95 MPH. His curveball accommodated his fastball exceptionally well when he kept it low in the zone.

“His composure on the mound… and his velocity is pretty good. (For) his first time here, he handled it pretty good.” Cyclones manager Edgardo Alfonzo said after the game.

Tonight, the Cyclones will continue their series against the Staten Island Yankees with the chance to clinch a playoff berth. If they can, Allan will have the opportunity to help Brooklyn win their first league title since 2001.